Curtain
by tuxedotservo
Summary: A sequal/follow-up to Masquerade.


"Curtain"   
---------

"I've been expecting you." 

"Interesting." Miyu blinked, her facial expression not changing from general neutrality   
as she studied the man before her. His gray hair gave him an air of significance and   
dignity. Heavy eyes stared back at Miyu. Miyu licked her lips a bit, curious. "So how   
would you know I'd be here?" 

"It's the eyes," the gentleman replied, softly. "There is a myth...legend, maybe...of a   
young girl with eyes of gold who brings beautiful dreams to the suffering." He smiled,   
though not happily. "I wish to believe that is you. I've had a sense that someone was   
watching me." 

Miyu nodded once. She had been watching him, for a number of weeks, and tonight was   
the night Miyu had chosen to move in, to make her deal... 

The gentleman rose, walking over and turning on a small stereo system, with slow dance   
music echoing throughout the small little studio they stood in. "I miss my wife," he   
whispered. "She was my dance partner, both on this floor and the floor of life. I'm not a   
solo performer." 

"There's a price for my services," Miyu cautioned. "In exchange for your fantasy, I will   
drink of your blood. It is painless, and you'll be in a world of your own choosing   
thereafter." 

"No price is too great," the gentleman replied, without hesitation. He sat in a chair in the   
corner of the room, his eyes sweeping across the floor, seeming to pause on each pillar   
that supported the ceiling. "Just give me a moment...I want to remember this perfectly, to   
take with me." 

"Of course," Miyu replied, walking to a mirror as the gentleman went about his last-  
moment preparations. 

The mirror reflected back at Miyu, and subconsciously she reached up, touching her face,   
watching her image do the same. "It's been so long," Miyu thought. She squinted, and the   
reflection squinted back, the face as youthful as always, as it had been for years. But for   
Miyu, it wasn't the visual reflection that spoke to her, but the reflection and voice of her   
soul. "I feel..._old_..." 

Miyu's thoughts were a jumble. Something within her had changed, and she wasn't sure   
what it was. It was almost a feeling of... 

"I'm ready," the gentleman called out, softly, breaking Miyu's train of thought. "What do  
you want me to do?" 

Miyu looked at her reflection once more, turning away and then walking to the chair in   
the corner. "Close your eyes, if you wish, and tilt your head," Miyu instructed. "It'll be   
painless, and you'll have what you desire." 

The gentleman nodded, doing as Miyu had instructed. In a moment, it was over. 

Miyu looked at the gentleman's hands, and then folded them neatly on his stomach. He   
was reclined, with the smallest hint of a smile. "Whatever you desire, that is what you   
will dream," Miyu whispered. "You may dance with your spouse, forever." 

Walking towards the glass door that led outside, Miyu froze in front of the same mirror,   
eyes locked on eyes. She walked to the mirror again, placing a finger on the smooth   
surface, and tracing her facial outline. "I feel old...and _tired_."

The years had run together. Miyu, at this point, wasn't even sure how old she was   
anymore. The routine and cycle of life seemed to drain her sense of time away. For all   
she knew, she could be fifty, or one hundred and fifty, or five hundred and fifty. 

The passage of time required mortality to appreciate, and mortality was for humans,  
and humans were only for observing and sustaining her, especially after... 

Miyu winced, closing her eyes. 

_Chisato_... 

"My friend...my _friend_," Miyu thought, a little bitter flavor in her mouth. Though she  
couldn't really blame the poor girl...it wasn't her fault, ultimately. "It was mine," Miyu  
whispered. "I should have known better." 

How long had it been? It seemed like only the day before that Yukari and Hisae had died,   
and Miyu had put Chisato into an eternal dream. In reality, it had probably been years.   
Again, the march of time gave no reference point to Miyu anymore.

Even the most reliable measure of time had come to a virtual standstill. Miyu couldn't   
remember the last time she had engaged a Shinma. At least when she had been hunting   
them, her role as Guardian gave her something to do.

After Chisato, Miyu's pursuit of the demon-gods had become relentless. Before, she had  
been calculating, methodical. Afterward, she had been anything but. Had she become  
vengeful? No question. Now, that seemed to be coming to an end.

Now, she was just a peddler, exchanging dreams for blood. 

Miyu used her fingers to again trace her facial outline in the mirror. The feeling she had   
experienced earlier returned to her, and she thought for a few moments, closing her eyes,   
listening to the light music drift around the room... 

"Miyu." 

Miyu opened her eyes, not turning, but looking at the reflection of her companion in the   
mirror, his size obscuring the rest of the room behind him. "Larva." 

"I've been watching for a while," Larva spoke, softly. "You appear to be heavy in   
thought. Is something the matter?" 

"No, well, yes...I don't know." Miyu pulled away from Larva, walking to a window and   
gazing out at the stars and moon. "I have had a feeling, for a while now, but lately it has   
been so very strong." 

Larva slipped in next to Miyu at the window, also looking out. "And what does your   
feeling tell you?" 

Larva looked back down at Miyu, and Miyu shifted her eyes up, meeting his. "It tells me   
it is time," she whispered, almost inaudible. "It is time for you to free me from my   
destiny." 

Larva remained closed-lipped, but nodded. "I had a feeling that you'd request that soon,"   
he replied at last. "And it is something I swore I would do." 

"I want it to be tonight," Miyu continued. "I see no reason to continue this beyond this   
room. There is something about this place that makes it feel...right." 

Larva nodded, pulling Miyu out into the middle of the room. Miyu allowed him to   
position her, obediently, her eyes locked on his face. Miyu admired Larva for being so   
efficient in the manner he was approaching this task. She continued to look at his face,   
wanting him to be the last vision in her mind... 

A waltz came on as Larva reached back. Miyu braced for the impact, her body   
unwavering. She desired this event... 

Larva lurched forward, but instead of impaling Miyu or slashing her throat, he took Miyu   
up in his arms and started to dance across the floor with her, gentle and graceful. Miyu   
fell into step with pure instinct, but her mind was confused. 

"What are you doing?" Miyu whispered. "Why are you prolonging this?" 

Larva spun her, smiled, and pulled her back in. "You are forgetful, Miyu. I promised you,   
a long time ago, that we'd dance again someday. Did you forget the masquerade, and the   
promise you had me make?" 

"Larva..." Miyu pressed in close, her eyes filling with tears. The memories of that dance   
floor, so long ago, came flooding back to her. After it had ended, Miyu had asked Larva   
to promise her an encore, someday, and Larva had agreed without hesitation. 

It had been one of the greatest times of her life, and she had wanted to relive it again. She   
_was_ reliving it again.

The music reached a crescendo, and Larva picked up the pace. 

"You have made it all bearable," Miyu spoke, talking above the music. "I couldn't   
imagine this life, or any other, without you in it, my Larva." 

"Nor could I," Larva replied, his eyes looking into her eyes, into her very being. "I wish   
it could go on, forever, but we have always known it cannot." 

Miyu nodded, her feet moving with self-will to the music. "I know." 

The music was reaching the grand finale, and Larva spun Miyu to the middle of the floor,   
dancing around a number of pillars on the way. As the music ended, Larva dipped Miyu,   
holding her horizontal to the ground with one hand. The other hand arched behind him,   
fingers together and nails ready. The sleeve of his cloak hung like a curtain from its rod,   
ready to close the act. 

"I love you, Miyu," Larva whispered, the hand twitching slightly. 

"And I love you, my Larva," Miyu replied, taking in his face one more time in her vision and   
then closing her eyes, forever. 

The curtain fell. 

This fanfiction copyright 2002 Kevin Turnquist. Rights? Sure.


End file.
